Immigration Bill: Submissions due next week

3 October 2007

The Immigration Bill was introduced in parliament on 8 August and had its first reading on 16 August, where it was supported by all the political parties except for the Maori Party and the Greens. It will be considered by the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee.
The message below has two parts: where you can find analysis and comment on the Bill, and information about how you can make a submission on it if you have not already done so - the closing date is Friday, 12 October 2007. This message is available online at (this link)

* Analysis and comment on the Bill

This section has links to information about the content of the Immigration Bill and the problems with it, the Attorney General's advice on its consistency with the Bill of Rights Act, where you can get a copy of the Bill, the Hansard record of the first reading debate, and the list of members of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee.

• Immigration Bill: Summary of issues, Human Rights Foundation, October 2007 – (see this link)

• Aspects of the Immigration Bill that raise human rights concerns, Human Rights Commission, September 2007 – (see this link)

• Immigration Bill: First Reading, Tariana Turia, Co-leader, Maori Party, 16 August 2007 – (see this link)

• On the introduction of the Immigration Bill, Privacy Commissioner, 9 August 2007 – (see this link)

• The new Immigration Bill, Gordon Campbell, 9 August 2007 - Scoop Analysis)

• New Immigration Bill a bureaucrat's paradise, Keith Locke MP, Green Party Immigration Spokesperson, 8 August 2007 – (see this link)

The Attorney-General's legal advice on the Immigration Bill's consistency with the NZ Bill of Rights Act, 20 July 2007 – (this link) It should be noted that this advice presents an overly optimistic slant on the Bill in reaching the conclusion that it "appears to be consistent with the Bill of Rights Act". As with other legislation that UN treaty monitoring bodies have expressed concern about (eg, the Committee against Torture re earlier immigration legislation), or found to be in breach of the government's international human rights obligations (eg, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination re the Foreshore and Seabed Act), there are references throughout this advice to prima facie inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Act.

The Bill is available online at (this link) (note: it is a large document!) or can be obtained from Bennetts Bookshop in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, or ordered from them at (this link) The Bill Digest is at (this link)

The Hansard record of the first reading of the Bill, 16 August 2007, is at (this link)

The list of Transport and Industrial Relations Committee members is at
(this link)

* How you can make a submission on the Bill

While the closing date for submissions is currently Friday, 12 October, the Human Rights Foundation has sent a letter (endorsed by Amnesty International) to the Chairperson of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee pointing out that the two month period between the Bill's introduction on August 8 and the submission deadline is grossly insufficient for a Bill of such complexity and importance, and requesting a general extension of the deadline.

Whether or not the Committee will agree to an extension is unknown at this point in time, so if you do wish to make a submission on the Bill, it would be wise to get at least a preliminary written submission to the Clerk of the Committee by 12 October, with a note saying that more information will follow and / or stating you wish to make an oral submission.

The Committee will accept submissions sent by email providing the submission is no more than ten A4 pages in total and is attached as a Word document - email to paul.weakley@parliament.govt.nz

If your submission is more than ten A4 pages, or you prefer to send a hard copy, two copies of your submission should be posted to The Clerk, Transport and Industrial Relations Committee, Parliament Buildings, Molesworth Street, Wellington 6160.

If you are planning on including any information of a private or personal nature in your submission, you should first discuss this with the Clerk of the Committee, tel (04) 471 9536, because submissions are usually released to the public. If you wish to appear before the committee to speak to your submission, you should state this clearly and provide a daytime telephone contact number. To assist with administration please supply your postcode and an email address if you have one. More information about making a submission is available at (this link) and the booklet 'Natural justice before select committees' is at (this link)

ENDS

© Scoop Media